Can anyone recommend a non-shady no-fee rental broker for PS

I don't know of any non-shady ones, but I can tell you Rapid Realty is shady and you shouldn't use them.

Subject: Re: Can anyone recommend a non-shady no-fee rental broker fo

lnelson wrote: , but however nice Sunset Park might be (with due respect to Anastasia Beavenhausen),

Well! Oscar is currently ripping up your puppy's invitation to his birthday party.

I wouldn't rule out the SP. You get a bit more bang for your buck, plenty of shopping, the park, and a short subway ride to Park Slope.

We're on 4th Avenue in North-ish slope and went through 4th Avenue Realty, who represent a lot of rentals by owner. They're pretty responsive, fair, and I didn't pay a fee for this apt., but I don't know what their availability is.

Joseph Berman Realty?

Try Royal Slope Realty 8th street between 5th and 6th..Mike Schaum.
Totally honest, fair, straight forward.

I may have a large one bedroom available in center slope (5th avenue between 5th and 6th) on the 1st of march. I am the landlord...so no fee.

Nearly everything Berman has listed is "No dogs allowed."

Flexichick wrote: [quote=Anastasia Beaverhausen]Nearly everything Berman has listed is "No dogs allowed."

I think some of the "no dogs allowed" is negotiable - depending on the building and the size/temperment of the dog. It's worth asking. My first PS apartment had "no pets allowed" I ended up getting permission for my cats.

This is true. My apartment was a "small pets allowed." Once they met O, they were smitten.

I went to Berman two weeks ago and they only had one "no fee" apartment available on 5th St. & 8th Ave.

I would second the rec for Berman. We lived in one of their buildings (8th and Prez!) for 3 years. They were great and have a large stock of units in the nabe to choose from.

I'm a broker:

We get listings, and if the landlord is willing, or more likely, having trouble renting it, the landlord pays us our fee. There is technically no such thing as a "no fee" broker. Brokers take each listing separately, and try to get it rented. We would all love it if the landlords always paid us our fee, but 99% will not. Most landlords are very reluctant to cough up our fee unless the place sits for literally months unrented, or the landlord is attempting to get a very inflated price for the apartment.

For a guaranteed no fee apartment, you just have to call each broker individually and ask "do you have any no-fee listings?" It should be the very first question out of your mouth. If they do not, call the next one on your list. Other than that, its Craigslist By Owners section.

lnelson wrote: Kilby tends to have that effect on people too.

But back to shady brokers...some guy I emailed from Craigslist just suggested that Avenue U was somehow geographically relatable to the Slope. I mean yes, in the sense of "far away" and "not even remotely the same neighborhood" and "Do you think I can't read maps?" but SERIOUSLY.

HTF is Avenue U park Slope? Is he kidding, stupid, crooked or all 3? Sheesh

NYkittyNY wrote: I'm a broker:

We get listings, and if the landlord is willing, or more likely, having trouble renting it, the landlord pays us our fee. There is technically no such thing as a "no fee" broker. Brokers take each listing separately, and try to get it rented. We would all love it if the landlords always paid us our fee, but 99% will not. Most landlords are very reluctant to cough up our fee unless the place sits for literally months unrented, or the landlord is attempting to get a very inflated price for the apartment.

For a guaranteed no fee apartment, you just have to call each broker individually and ask "do you have any no-fee listings?" It should be the very first question out of your mouth. If they do not, call the next one on your list. Other than that, its Craigslist By Owners section.

Thanks for the explanation of this.... we landed a no-fee through a broker and always wondered why.

kosherdave wrote: Call me crazy, but isn't a landlord who won't pay the broker fee getting the brokers to work for him or her for free? WTF is up with that?
I mean, if I was a landlord and just did not want to try to find someone to fill my places myself, I could just go out and get some poor scmuck to list it, do all the leg work, fill it for me... and I pay nothing for this service?

Ummm....yup. In technical terms, the fee "is passed on to the incoming tenant". Some management companies take it a step further, and tell us that after we do all the work for them, we owe them 10 - 20% of the $$ we just collected from you, the renter, who is likely under the impression that we are just throwing all that money on our mattress and rolling around in it.

As for the 2 years rent thing, again, its all about whether or not the LL is willing to pay the fee. Larger management companies may go for this, but since 90% of the listings here in the Slope are from private landlords, its not likely. In 6 years, I think I have done a total of 3 deals where the LL coughed up the fee. With the current state of the economy, the best way to get a good deal is to negotiate down on the monthly rent, rather than trying to skirt the fee. Do the math of what it will save you over a year or 2, and make an offer.

I will THIRD and say Rapid Realty is one of the shadiest realtors in the Slope. Their run-down offices on fourth and 22nd are like a boiler room. Stay away!